LAKE GEORGE — Two children are dead, shot multiple times by their father who then killed himself with the same 45-caliber rifle in a grisly murder-suicide at a Lake George campground.

The owner of Adirondack Camping Village discovered the bodies of Adam P. Parcells, 29, of Hilton, northwest of Rochester, and his daughters, Noel Parcells, 10, and Mia Parcells, 3, at about 10:30 a.m. Tuesday.

The two girls had different mothers. It’s believed that Adam Parcells and the younger girl’s mother had been going through a separation. The older girl’s mother reported her daughter missing to Rochester area police Friday evening.

“This is just very sad,” Warren County Sheriff Bud York said.

It was the second Lake George murder-suicide this year; the first involved a husband and wife earlier this summer. York said he can’t remember an incident of this magnitude involving children ever happening during his long career in area law enforcement.

It’s believed the incident occurred late Monday afternoon or early evening. The campground manager became suspicious Tuesday after spotting Adam Parcells’ vehicle with its hatch open, the same position it had been in the day before.

York said both girls were shot in the body. There’s no way of telling if they were asleep at the time.

An autopsy on all three people is scheduled for Wednesday. There were no visible signs of alcohol or drug use at the scene, York said.

Despite the missing child report filed Friday, York said no “amber alert” was registered throughout the state. He declined additional comment.

Adam Parcells and his two daughters checked into the campground, off Route 9 north in Lake George Village, on Saturday.

Adam and Mia Parcells shared the same address at 526 Curtis Road in Hilton, a small village near the southern shore of Lake Ontario. Noel Parcells lived at 28 Hickory St. in Rochester. York said he didn’t know if Adam Parcells and Noel’s mother had ever been married.

Adam Parcells purchased the Hi-Point 45-caliber rifle in July at a Dick’s Sporting Goods store near Rochester, York said. The gun held about 10 rounds.

He declined to speculate about whether the murders were planned before the trip.

“I think there’s a history with this gentleman,” he said. “We haven’t located anyone who said they saw or heard anything. There was a lot of rain. It probably would have been muffled.”

Also, many people had left the campground because of Monday’s inclement weather, on the last day of the Labor Day holiday weekend.

In addition, 45-caliber is the same as a pistol round, so it might not have been as loud as a more powerful rifle. The weapon was found at the scene.

York said the tent the three bodies were found in had fallen down after Adam Parcells turned the gun on himself.

It’s uncertain if the father and daughters had stayed at the campground all weekend or gone elsewhere in the area.

“There was some activity,” York said. “The little girl had a teddy bear and a nighttime book.”